For an audio preview of tonight’s contest, click here to hear the Gameday Insider with Morning News sports writers Nathan Allen and Ryan Malashock.

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Twenty-three nights have now gone by since Arkansas last won a game. That victory came on Jan. 29, when the Hogs downed Alabama 89-80. Interestingly enough, Arkansas went 23 nights without a victory before the that win, as well. The Razorbacks should be due for a win tonight at Colonial Life Arena then, right? Well, I don’t quite think South Carolina will be on board with that.

Arkansas (13-11, 1-10) at South Carolina (18-6, 7-4)
When: 6 p.m.
Where: Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, S.C.
TV: None
Radio: 107.9-FM, 92.1-FM, 105.3-FM, 97.9-FM, 1290-AM in our readership area
Line: South Carolina by 10
Series: Arkansas leads 12-8 (South Carolina has won six of the past nine meetings)
Last Meeting: South Carolina beat Arkansas 70-66 on Jan. 16, 2008, in Fayetteville

About South Carolina

First-year coach Darrin Horn has a real chance at earning Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year honors. The main reason: He has the most productive and possibly most talented backcourt in the league. Junior point guard Devan Downey scores 19 points a game and frustrates most defenders who try to stop him. Senior shooting guard Zam Fredrick is a great second scorer for Horn. That backcourt has helped make him for some evident deficiencies. Seriously, South Carolina just finds a way to win. Two examples are Downey’s game-winning jumper at Kentucky and Mike Holmes’ length-of-the-court baseball pass to Fredrick for a buzzer-beating layup against Florida.

Players To Watch

Arkansas
Rotnei Clarke, 6-0, 184-pound freshman guard

Little by little, Clarke has looked increasingly comfortable during SEC play. He’s expanding his game beyond being just a set shooter, evident from his create-off-the-dribble plays during his 17-point performance Wednesday against LSU.

South Carolina
Devan Downey, 5-9, 175-pound junior guard

Quite simply, Downey is athletically the most explosive guard in the league, even more than Kentucky’s Jodie Meeks, even more than LSU’s Marcus Thornton. Downey has scored in double figures in all but one game this season.

Gameday Links

• Here’s my story in today’s Morning News on Arkansas’ recent rebounding woes, and here are my keys to an Arkansas victory. Robbie Neiswanger’s scouting report on Downey is in today’s print edition.
• South Carolina isn’t the deepest team, but Seth Emerson of The State (Columbia, S.C.) writes that an emphasis on conditioning has helped with that.